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12/12/2017

A lot of people don't believe in psychics or premonitions but I am not one of those people. I believe that we all possess internal senses that can be used as a guide to lead us correctly and we're all given signs when we're veering off course. Call it instincts, clairvoyance or a host of other names but to some degree we ll are able to make assessments about our next move and the movement of others. Have doubts about that? How many times have you been driving in a lane and get a feeling that the person near you in the other lane is about to merge into your lane before you even see a turning signal? No turning signal yet you're still able to sense that you need to proceed with caution. There's no magical explanation to it... you possess instincts and those instincts are extremely useful. Some people possess more sensitivity in regards to these senses and are able to pick up on other frequencies. These individuals are what we consider clairvoyants.

I personally have not experienced any clairvoyants that helped me change trajectory in life but to be honest I haven't really been searching for one either. I just acknowledge the possibility that some can possess the ability of true insight into topics that I don't. So when I heard of a book written by a man who describes himself as a medium that helps in health matters it quickly piqued my interest. I did a bit of research online and found that he's extremely hard to get an appointment with because now his primary clientele are celebrities and to be honest, I can't hate on that. Time is precious for us all and if he's spending his time only seeing clients who only have the means to pay top dollar then so be it. Also I'm not sick or at least not that I know of but who doesn't want to ensure you're on the right path and doing the best one can to ensure optimal health? Well to some degree at least because I don't eat right 100% of the time but small steps to optimal health is what I'm striving for. In addition there are family members that I care deeply for and knowledge is wealth correct so what harm could be done by investing in a $10 book? That's what lead me to purchasing the Medical Medium by Anthony William. Most of what he writes about involves self healing from the inside out by adopting small changes in your eating habits. Also he writes about how our bodies work to heal itself and how many diseases take years to evolve and comes about from years of unhealthy choices that accumulate into ailments. Again to some degree that is something I've already believed.

One of the topics Anthony discusses in his book Medical Medium is about the misconceptions in widely accepted diet fads. One of which I tried myself which is the consumption of diatomaceous earth clears out parasites in our intestine if drunk with water. I quickly passed on that assessment after I used it to rid my plants of fungus gnats only to notice that it caused a sticky film residue on the top of my soil which did more harm than good for my plants. I could only imagine what it was doing to my intestines. With all this said the biggest culprit for most of us is sugar and there really is no debating that on any front. Sugar is all around us and it's the largest contributor to an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. In addition to other things I've recently adopted a quick study on myself following one suggestion from the book and it's simply to drink 16 ounces of juiced celery and cucumbers on an empty stomach first thing when I awake. I also have the rest of my family participating as well to see if we collectively notice a change. I figure drinking celery and cucumber juice is not that crazy and the health benefits alone should be worth it. My goal is to try it out for a month to see if we notice any of the associated benefits. If we notice changes then I'll keep it as a constant in our morning routine although it isn't the greatest tasting juice.

By now you're asking yourself what are the benefits of drinking celery and cucumber juice. Well after some research there seems to be a lot of benefits and you can read up on Anthony William but below are a few of the great reasons to pick up a new healthy habit:

1) Great source of vitamins A, C, K, B9, Potassium, Copper and Magnesium. All of which are generally lacking in the modern day diet of most. I use a retinol cream which is just vitamin A for my skin so ingesting it should work wonders. I swear by my retinol cream and have been using it for years to fight acne and premature aging. Celery and cucumber juice also reduces hair loss and promotes stronger nails so if you're into a full head of hair and nail strength then it's definitely a bonus.

2) It's naturally alkaline which is a great detoxifier! We constantly hear about alkalized diets and this juice is a great way to make subtle changes to promote a balanced pH within the body.

11/28/2017

Watching She's Gotta Have It and although I didn't like the original I like the vibe of Nola on the Netflix version so far but some of the aspects of the show is a bit of a stretch. Mind you I'm only 4 episodes in so far but still I'm not fully sold on the reality of this fictional story. Hear me out.

How to fuck do these people with no real jobs afford to live in these massive apartments with crazy amounts of square footage in expensive ass NYC? Really like WTF??!!! That is not believable AT ALL! There are people who are similar to the characters on the story that live 5 deep in an apartment in NYC paying around $1000 each. You're trying to tell me that a struggling artist with no real job and a crazy social life can afford that apartment solo while buying $500 dresses and posting anti-harassment flyers up around Brooklyn for FREE??? Ohhhh no dice! Art supplies are expensive and so is socializing and living in the city. It's completely unbelievable and Spike had to think about that when shooting. Also the apartments they show are rather LAID! First episode we see the apartment of Nola which seems modest enough but is way larger than what a girl who is a recent graduate of Pratt can afford as a struggling artist. Then we see her metro-sexual (gay-ish) photographer sex toy's apartment and he has a nice little loft spot too with exposed brick and class enclosed bathroom.They made his character completely lack of alpha-male characteristics that in real life dude wouldn't even be checking for her sexually unless he was in need of a beard! There is absolutely no believable sexual connection between these two.NONE!

Speaking on all of her sexual liaisons because she begins with three different men and then the story cuts to her rekindling a flame with a woman so she extremely busy sexually and socially. However my one main criticism with this is that these men couldn't be more different from each other. I don't get the sense of connection between her and some of the men they've paired her with. Typically when a woman is dealing with a man, you can see different aspects of herself within the man or men she dates. With these dudes you get a egocentric karate loving photographer metro-sexual, a Brooklyn B-Boy bike messenger and a married white collar businessman and a lesbian single parent. In real life she would be friends with the photographer, chill with the Brooklyn dude which may occasionally cross the line sexually and IF she did decide to date the businessman it would be purely as a sugar-daddy. Now don't get me wrong because you definitely get to meet all kinds in the melting pot that is NYC but typically people stick to certain tribes. The melting pot is one of the cities most beautiful qualities but honestly speaking you tend to chill and fraternize with people who fit your personality and the show makes her out to be all over the place which isn't believable. The way she is depicted on the show is that she genuinely has some level of interest in all the dudes she's sleeping with and I don't buy it.

None the less I'm still watching and currently I'm on episode 4. Aside from the few mentions points there are aspects of the show that I really like. Homegirl who plays Nola has absolutely flawless skin and I like the interaction between her and the Brooklyn dude. The show also slightly highlights the gentrification of Brooklyn with subtle peeks into the topic. There's two scenes in general that highlights the gentrification subject briefly. One in which a nosy neighbor who buys the adjacent brownstone ask who the "b-boy" is visiting in her neighborhood which is intended to be comical. Then there is another scene in which a white bearded waiter brings out a drink that doesn't contain top shelf liquor which is suppose to highlight how trendy little eateries are popping up everywhere. Despite the attempt, the scenes weren't really impactful enough to highlight the magnitude of how gentrification is changing the demographics of what used to be primarily black areas. Overall I'm still watching and supporting when time allows. It's not one of those shows that is must see TV but it's definitely something to watch when bored.

10/31/2017

It's my Birthday soon and as most I'm reflecting and looking forward to new and exciting experiences with the next year. This year my birthday brought me to Miami. A place where I haven't been in years and one thing that I realized is that there's a lot of money to get out here. The prices in Miami are ridiculous and there are a lot of foreigners migrating to the warmer weather and beaches that the city of Miami has to offer. It's easy to get wrapped up in the excess of it all. Let me fill you in on my festivities.

We arrived at our first hotel and was literally there for 30 minutes and within those first 30 minutes we saw 4 roaches! Not 1... not 2 but freaking 4! They moved us to another room which was considered an upgrade and within the first 30 seconds another huge water bug. This bug was HUGE so that was it for us and that hotel. It was a beautiful hotel right on the water which wasn't cheap at all but the rooms were small which would've been tolerable without the bugs. Plus I'm already paranoid staying at hotels because I have a fear of bed bugs. Really since a little girl, I've feared bugs and the thought of a bugs sucking blood from me while I'm at my most vulnerable is horrific to even think about. So we got a refund and headed off the strip to the 4 Seasons. After pulling up to the hotel and telling the doorman of our previous experience he took care of us and I do mean that literally. We booked a double bed room online but after discussing our recent experience he put us in a room with the doubles and a master suite. Okay so actually forget just the master suite, we actually had a full 2 bedroom suite with kitchen, dining room, washer dryer, foyer and 2.5 bathrooms! He even let my 7 year old pick from a toy chest and the best thing of all was the view! Oh and not a bug in sight which equated to birthday bliss for both me and my youngest daughter. Truly impeccable customer service and I now have a preferred hotel due to this one experience.

Enough about how great the Four Seasons treated me and my family during our stay. The main focus on my weekend was to determine what's next for me. As I do every year I make it a time to reflect on the previous year and lay out a chart to build upon what I've already accomplished and at times I like to include some extra help. On October 23rd I went to a group reading class and during the group all the participants had to pull a tarot card for a mini reading. When it was my turn I pulled the "Death" card. As discouraging as it sounds the death card doesn't always mean something bad. The psychic said that what it meant for me was that I would be going through a transition or a change. Doesn't death symbolically mean change anyway??? Hopefully my change isn't going to negatively impact me but at the time nothing particular came to mind immediately in terms of change during my reading. So what I want to do is manifest the positive changes I want to see for myself and if negative changes are in the future then hopefully my positive manifestations will assist with that transition as well.

With that being said I do know that I whole-heartedly will manifest a change as it relates to what I do professionally. I want to help women discover new possibilities within the I.T. world. In particular women of color! More women and especially women of color are needed in the I.T. world and juggling the high demands of I.T. and family. The world is changing and technology is playing a huge role in restructuring the world as we know it. The industry in itself is so vast and constantly evolving but one thing is certain, it's not a dying industry and women need to take action within it. I want to step into the arena to help guide women to understand how they can make an impact. How I will do this exactly will develop but it's where I see myself heading. It's the legacy that I want to leave and I want to make sure that I'm able to assist even if it's just bridging others together with information and resources that will help women change their financial futures and impact the industry.

There is money to be me made in this industry and women are taking larger roles in leading the household therefore their finances should also make strides to match the head of house-hold role. In addition to making more money the industry in itself can be very rewarding knowing that you're impacting the world in some form and there is no debate that technology is reshaping the world. Even during my travels I see a lot of people who change locations for work and many of them are foreigners. In Miami alone it's been reported for years that the amount of European expats who are migrating to Florida is on the rise and it's driving real estate prices up. I don't believe this will be a trend that will end soon. With technology playing a larger role in everyday life, people from all across the globe are discovering new possibilities in foreign lands and they're migrating. The world is shrinking in terms possibilities therefore when we think of the future we should all think globally and that in part is largely due to advances in technology. I want to help women understand the potential and help them focus on where they see themselves within it.

10/24/2017

It's Tuesday and my work will be short because I'm starting my birthday celebrations early so today is my Friday and it's already been a long 2 days.I cannot wait to unwind with some sand and sun but I must admit it's been unusually warm here in the north-east region. Normally it's definitely sweater weather around these parts but it's been full fledged short and flip-flop days. The mornings are the only exceptions because it's quite cold on some early mornings but it's also been drastic fluctuations of at least 20-25 degree differences between 6am to 12pm which is insane but hey... I'll take it.
Another day, another unsettling sexual harassment accusation against the men in Hollywood. This time it's against a director named James Toback and his count just hit 38 women. The Harvey Weinstein story opened the flood gates and the stories we've since discovered due to this case are horrific and deeply worrisome. Most cases of sexual misconduct in the workplace are less overt than these which in some cases have been reported as rape! It's insane that these men felt such entitlement due to their positions but it definitely spans further than just Hollywood. There are a lot of women who have experienced some form of sexual misconduct from men in the workplace. There are tons of men in corporate America who act inappropriately and women deal with it and remain quiet due to the perceived threat of losing their jobs due to them speaking up. Who wants to be scrutinized, judged and questioned with the possibility of being labeled a problem or a trouble maker by colleagues or human resources? I know I've never reported any misconduct and I've definitely dealt with my share of inappropriate bosses and it didn't occur just once. Nor was it at one job or industry. It's really a shame but I believe abuse of power is rampant and a widely accepted practice within many corporations. That's not to say that it's right but definitely woven into the corporate DNA. My sister-in-law has a co-worker who has worked within a major corporation for years and she has held on to her very first employee handbook. In it the company advised women on workplace etiquette by describing how to be a better work wife to their male boss.
It wasn't unusual back then to incorporate such sexist ideals within the employee handbook. This illustration below is from a 1940's for Disney and it's filled with sexist undertones. Disney has always been a family oriented corporation so if we clearly see it laid out in a Disney employee handbook imagine those who were really dominated by men. We need more women in positions of power throughout corporate hierarchies and only then will the narrative change for women.